Connecticut lawmakers moved this week to broaden protections for migrants at state courthouses, passing legislation that limits immigration arrests near court facilities.
A bill adopted by the Senate Thursday prohibits most civil immigration arrests on courthouse grounds without a signed judicial warrant. It also bars law enforcement officers from wearing face coverings in court without a medical need.
Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont is expected to sign the measure, which also passed in the House.
Lawmakers adopted the restrictions as part of a wide-ranging bill taken up during a two-day special legislative session. Another immigration-related provision would limit how much personal information the state shares with federal authorities, such as a person's home or work address, and the time and date of hearings or proceedings with a public agency.
Carolina Bortolleto, a member of advocacy collective Danbury Unites for Immigrants, said she was encouraged lawmakers took action.
“These are some of the demands that we have been fighting for for months,” Bortolleto said. “In Danbury, we see people afraid to go to the hospital. We see people afraid to send their kids to school. We see people afraid to go to the courthouse.”
Danbury Unites for Immigrants was one of 92 advocacy organizations that urged lawmakers to adopt new protections for immigrants in a letter sent in September to Lamont and legislative leaders.
“Armed and masked ICE agents are terrorizing our communities — abducting parents in front of their children, targeting workers, and tearing students from their futures,” the letter reads. “We urge our Connecticut elected officials to stand with us by prioritizing immigrant protections.”
The bill received pushback from House and Senate Republicans, including state Sen. John A. Kissel, a ranking member of the Judiciary Committee. Kissel said he voted against the bill because it restricts federal authority.
"I think that this is being rushed unnecessarily," Kissel said. "I could imagine it's to send a message to how much certain folks disagree with ICE policy. But we can't use our laws as message bearers."
Some advocates argue the legislation could have gone further, though. The letter had called for Connecticut’s judicial system to provide the option for remote appearances for all court proceedings.
Sonia Hernandez, a community organizer with immigrant advocacy group Make the Road Connecticut, said she was disappointed that part didn’t make it into the new measure.
“Virtual hearings is not difficult because we did have it in the past when we were having COVID,” Hernandez said. ”At the same time, we know that it’s going to be difficult, this battle. We’re just in the first year. We have to continue fighting.”
Advocates had also called on the state to preserve HUSKY health care coverage for undocumented children amid threats of federal cuts. Connecticut made undocumented children eligible two years ago, and expanded the program to include those 15 and under last year.
Protections at state courts became a priority this summer amid an uptick in immigration enforcement activity around court facilities.
In perhaps the most high-profile instance, masked officers arrested two men at a courthouse in Stamford in August. The event prompted criticism from elected officials, and outcry in nearby communities.
The state's highest court acted soon after. Supreme Court Chief Justice Raheem Mullins issued a policy in September that limits ICE activity in courthouses. The move came after a request from Democratic state senators.
State Rep. Steve Stafstrom, a Democrat who co-chairs the Judiciary Committee, said lawmakers wanted to codify the parameters put in place by the judicial branch.
“I thought it was important that the legislative branch weigh in on that policy, that we provide some additional teeth," Stafstrom said.
Under the bill passed this week, law enforcement officers seeking to arrest or detain someone on the grounds of a courthouse must first notify a judicial marshal, and provide either a signed judicial warrant, or documentation showing the person they seek isn't protected from arrest by Connecticut's civil detainer law.
The law's protections don't apply if the person being sought is named in a federal terrorism database, or convicted of a class A or B felony, or one of 13 other specific criminal offenses.
Lawmakers also expanded the area where people visiting court are shielded from arrest. The new law covers court parking lots, garages and nearby walkways.
As recently as Wednesday, members of Danbury Unites for Immigrants witnessed federal immigration officers working near the Danbury Superior Court, according to Bortolleto.
A spokesperson for the ICE field office in Boston confirmed in a statement that its officers conducted operations in Danbury, but didn’t specify where.
